Fill Up On Peace, Put The Brakes On Rage

This practice will offer a unique perspective to a situation which many regard as one of the challenging tests of our ability to act with reason and compassion. Offering philosophies and techniques which will help you to shift the driving perspective from a place of confrontation fueled by ego, to an opportunity for the practice of lovingkindness. Replace the ego with the calm observer who views the joy of humanity in motion as we all try to arrive safely in Nirvana

Transcript

Thank you so much for listening to Driving with Banti.

During this presentation know that your mind will remain alert,

Awake and focused as you What a beautiful day,

Another brand new 24 hours ahead of you.

How wonderful we have this time in our lives.

I am grateful for the sunrise.

I am grateful for trees and birds,

All natural things which I have around me.

The stars in the night sky and the grains of sand on the ocean floor so far away and out of my reach.

But you must think and realize that these are the very same elements as energy from the mountains and the stream and all of nature.

I am grateful today.

Humanity is just a part of nature.

We are connected to everything we create,

Touch,

See,

Feel and know.

It does not matter the distance,

We are part of those stars and the sand is part of us.

That is the essence of existence and love.

Again,

I am grateful for this moment,

This opportunity for this life.

Let's make a great determination for the day.

I love my life.

I love my breath.

What is breath?

Breath is life.

Prana means life giving breath.

Life energy,

Life force,

Chi.

Hold your palm to your chest for a moment.

Feel the rhythm.

Wow,

I am breathing.

I am grateful.

I am breath.

Yes,

I am breathing.

Smile to yourself.

Make a great smile to yourself.

Smile.

I am smiling to me and my heart.

I am smiling to everybody and everything.

Maintain this smile the rest of your day.

Smile.

My smile makes thousands of other people smile.

Great.

Look within.

I am happy.

And look around.

Everybody is happy too.

Now I am starting my day.

Now I am driving to work or something I had to do on this beautiful day.

Oh,

There is a road bump.

Life is also like this bump.

Take this challenge and smile to the bump.

Say thank you.

Thank you for the lesson and move on.

Now listen to this story.

There is a wonderful little story about two monks who lived together in a monastery.

For many years they were great friends.

Then they died within a few months of one another.

One of them got reborn in the heavenly realms.

The other monk got reborn as a worm in a dung pile.

The one up in the heavenly realms was having a wonderful time enjoying all the heavenly pleasures.

But he started thinking about his friend.

I wonder where my old mate has gone.

So he scanned all of the heavenly realms but he could not find a trace of his friend.

Then he scanned the realm of human beings but he could not see any trace of his friend there.

So he looked in the realm of animals and then of insects.

Finally he found him reborn as a worm in a dung pile.

Wow!

He thought I am going to help my friend.

I am going to go down there to that dung pile and take him up to the heavenly realm so he too can enjoy the heavenly pleasures and bliss of living in these wonderful realms.

So he went down to the dung pile and called his mate.

And the little worm wriggled out and said,

Who are you?

I am your friend.

We used to be monks together in past life.

I have come to take you up to the heavenly realms where life is wonderful and blissful.

But the worm said,

Go away,

Get lost.

But I am your friend and I live in the heavenly realms.

And he described the heavenly realms to him.

But the worm said,

No,

Thank you.

I am quite happy here in my dung pile.

Please go away.

Then the heavenly being thought,

Well,

If I could only just grab hold of him and take him up to the heavenly realm,

He could see for himself.

So he grabbed hold of the worm and started tugging at him and the harder he tugged,

The harder that worm clung to his pile of dung.

Do you get the moral of the story?

How many of us are attached to our pile of dung?

Now I am driving.

There is stop sign.

Stop gently.

No hurry.

Be careful and move on.

Now think about how all other people on the road are just like you.

They have homes and families and jobs to do.

They have places to go and people to see.

Some may have such sadness in their life right now or be sick or tired.

Be aware of those things and send your loving kindness to them.

May they be well,

Happy and peaceful.

Always keep your attention on the road and the cars around you.

Be very mindful of your safety and be mindful of all the living beings around you.

This is a time for you to be alert and awake,

Completely present in this moment.

Sometimes people may get angry at you.

You make mistakes.

Accept your mistakes.

Other people also make mistakes.

Accept those also.

When people are mad at you,

There is no need to be mad at them.

Don't take it personally.

They may use body language or hand signals.

It is okay.

Smile to them.

Keep repeating to yourself,

I am well.

I am happy and I am peaceful.

Smile.

I am relaxed.

I am happy.

How wonderful!

Once Buddha said,

Oh!

Let us live happily,

Free from aversion,

Going even among those who hate.

Among those in anger,

Let us live free from all anger.

Oh!

Let us live happily,

Freed from discontent,

Going easy among those who want evermore.

Among those dissatisfied,

Let us live free from any discontent.

Oh!

Let us live happily,

Freed from attachment,

Ever free from longing,

Disentangled,

Released among those who are entangled in all and all less longing.

Among those hoping and longing,

Let us live free from all yearning.

Let us live happily,

Having nothing at all.

Let us feed on joy,

Just like the bright shining devas.

Maybe you are on the highway or expressway now,

Going to work.

Maybe in the middle of a lot of traffic.

Oh my!

Traffic is not moving at all.

What are you going to do?

Be mad or get angry and stress out?

Your mind says,

I am late to work for my appointment.

What to do?

Nothing.

You are just there,

Right there,

Right now.

Don't make a story.

This is not the end of your life.

Things will happen always.

Because everything is out of your control,

So relax.

Breathe.

Calm yourself down.

Now smile.

Your car is not moving at all.

Focus.

Practice loving kindness.

I am well.

I am happy.

I am peaceful.

You can see other people are mad,

Angry and upset.

Please send your loving thoughts towards them too.

May all the people around me be well,

Happy and peaceful.

The venerable Thich Nhat Than once said,

I always say that a smile can be a practice,

A kind of yoga practice.

You have the mouth.

You just smile even if you don't feel joy and you will see after you smile that you will feel differently.

Sometimes the mind takes the initiative and sometimes you have to allow the body to take the initiative.

Sometimes the spirit leads and sometimes the body can lead.

This is why when you have joy you naturally smile.

But sometimes you can allow the smile to go first.

You try to smile and suddenly you feel that you don't suffer that much anymore.

So don't discriminate against the body.

The body also can be a leader,

Not only the spirit.

I propose that you try this when you wake up during the night.

It is totally dark.

Breathe in and smile and you will see smile to life.

You are alive.

You smile.

This is not a diplomatic smile because no one sees you smiling.

Yet the smile is a smile of enlightenment,

Of joy,

The joy you feel of being alive.

So smiling is a practice,

A yoga practice.

Don't say I have no joy.

Why do I have to smile?

Because when you have joy and you smile,

That is not practice,

That's very natural.

When you don't have joy and you smile,

That is a real practice.

You know there are something like 300 muscles,

Small and big,

On your face.

Every time we get very angry or worried,

All these muscles are very tight.

When people look at you with that tension on your face,

They don't see you like a flower.

People are afraid of you when all the muscles on your face are tense like that.

You look more like a bomb than a flower.

But if you know how to smile,

In just one second all these muscles are relaxed and your face looks like a flower again.

It is wonderful.

So we have to learn to smile and then we will look presentable right away.

Look into the mirror and practice and you will see that the practice of the smile is very important.

It brings relaxation and you can let go.

You feel that you are released from the grip of the anger of the despair.

There is another story I would like to share.

Two monks were returning to the temple in the evening.

It had rained and there were puddles of water on the roadside.

At one place a beautiful young woman was standing unable to walk across because of a puddle of water.

The elder of the two monks went up to her,

Lifted her and left her on the other side of the road and continued on his way to the temple.

In the evening the young monk came to the elder monk and said,

Sir,

As monks we cannot touch a woman.

The elder monk answered,

Yes brother.

Then the young monk asked again,

But then sir,

How is it that you lifted that woman on the roadside?

The elder monk smiled at him and told him,

I left her on the other side of the road but you are still carrying her.

Now be aware of your body and the tension in your neck,

Shoulder and arm.

Apply these muscles yet keep your mind and attention focused on what you are doing.

Like riding a horse,

You must be respectful of the powerful beast yet you ride best when you are in rhythm with the horse.

Be aware that you are in rhythm with the traffic around you,

In front of you and behind you.

Always keep your attention on the road and the cars around you.

Be very mindful of your safety and be mindful of all living beings around you.

This is the time for you to be alert and awake,

Completely present in this moment.

Now focus your attention again on your breath.

Breathe deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

Feel the tension escape from your body as you find the rhythm of your journey.

Take a deep breath in and then let it come out gently.

Feel how just being mindful of your breath makes your body relax.

Now focus your attention again on your breath.

Breathe deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

Feel even more tension escape from your body as you find the rhythm of your journey.

Let's listen to one more story.

Once upon a time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.

One day his horse ran away.

Upon hearing the news his neighbors came to visit.

Such bad luck they said sympathetically.

Maybe the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned bringing with it three other wild horses.

How wonderful the neighbors exclaimed.

Maybe replied the old man.

The following day his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses,

Was thrown and broke his leg.

The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy for his misfortune.

Maybe answered the farmer.

The day after military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army.

Seeing that the son's leg was broken they passed him by.

The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

Maybe said the farmer.

So the next time another driver does something that provokes anger in you,

Do these seven steps.

One take a deep breath.

Two release it.

Three repeat.

Four now imagine a person you dearly love.

Five imagine this person has just phoned and told you she or he is in desperate need of immediate assistance for an emergency situation.

And you are the only one who can offer aid and help them.

Six imagine how you would be driving in this case.

Seven now imagine the person who just provoked you with his or her bad driving is in exactly this predicament.

That's it.

Initially your mind may rebel.

You may reason that the other person is just being a jerk.

That may be the case.

But can you actually know that?

So relax and send them loving kindness as well.

Here is my last story.

There once was a great Buddhist teacher who was renowned throughout the land.

He would sit his disciples around for meditation and many would achieve enlightenment.

One day the teacher found a cat and took her in.

That evening when the spiritual teacher and his disciples began their evening meditation,

The cat wove in between the monks and purred and brushed up against them and made such noise that it distracted them.

No one was able to meditate let alone reach enlightenment.

So the teacher had the cat tied to a post outside during the meditation.

Years later when the teacher died,

The cat continued to be tied up during the meditation session.

And when the cat eventually died,

The disciples were beside themselves and couldn't focus and no one was able to meditate let alone reach enlightenment.

They stated,

How can we meditate properly when we don't have a cat tied up outside?

We should go out and get another cat to put outside.

So another cat was brought to the temple and tied up.

Centuries later the highly educated descendants of the spiritual teacher wrote scholarly treatises about the religious significance of tying up a cat for proper meditation practice.

May you be well,

Happy and peaceful.

Reviews

I’m so happy I found this one! It’s my favorite!!!! Thank you so much!!!

This qas just wonderful I love to listen to you and your loving ❤️ voice

May All Beings Be Well
Be Happy
Be Peaceful
Namaste 🙏🏼

Wonderful! Thank you for explaining about smiling and "yoga of the mouth "

I liked the stories and that they led me to reflect on their message andmeaning.

Thank you for sharing so much wisdom. I especially like smiling as a practice. 😌

Enjoyed this meditation and it was very helpful. Thank you so much❤️

Thank you for inspiring loving kindness. This is beautiful and enjoyable!

I'm certainly very joyful now - not smiling, laughing! Grateful to you for making my day 🙏

Very nice!

I felt so lifted and at peace with this meditation. I’m grateful having listened.

I will try to feel well, happy and peaceful today. Thank you for your wise words and stories.

I sometimes forget the main reason I devote time to a daily practice. This guided meditation is a wonderful reminder.

Thank you lots of wisdom in this meditation, I enjoyed your stories 🙏🏻😃

This absolutely made my day. Thank you so much 🙏🏻

Brilliant and very calming meditation. Thank you 🙏🏻 Namaste ❤️

Wonderful stories! Thanks a lot! Namaste 🙏

Thank you so much, right on the point as I got angry in my car yesterday. Your stories made me smile and gave me a lot to meditate on🙌 Will listen again

Full of Buddhist wisdom!

Wonderful --- thank you so much!
🙏